"Even though the construction of the future and its completion for all times is not our task, what we have to accomplish at this time is all the more clear: *relentless criticism of all existing conditions*, relentless in the sense that the criticism is not afraid of its findings and just as little afraid of the conflict with the powers that be."

Books: Bury the Chains by Adam Hochschild, Endless War: Hidden Functions of the "war on terror" by David Keen, Capital Vol. 1, Tin Drum by Günter Grass, What is Islam? by Shahab Ahmed, Desiring Arabs by Joseph Massad, Spies, Soldiers and Statesmen by Hazem Kandil, La Condition Humaine by André Malraux, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Imagined Community by Benedict Anderson, Culture and Imperialism by Edward Said, The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon, The Richness of Life by Stephen Jay Gould, Children of the Alley by Naguib Mahfouz, The Mass Psychology of Fascism by Wilhelm Reich, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, 1984 by George Orwell, Noli me Tangere by José Rizal, Age of Extremes by Eric Hobsbawm, ذهنية التحريم لصادق جلال العظم, Karl Marx by Francis Wheen, وليمة لأعشاب البحر لحيدر حيدر, Candide by Voltaire, النزعات المادية في الفلسفة العربية الإسلامية لحسين مروة, Listen Little Man by Wilhelm Reich ..

Friday, January 27, 2017

Keynes's economic theory voted most influential academic book on British life. A public vote to decide which scholarly book has had the greatest impact on Britain has chosen The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money

"Keynes knew what he was on to when he wrote The General Theory. In a letter to playwright and socialist George Bernard Shaw, he wrote: “I believe myself to be writing a book on economic theory, which will largely revolutionise – not, I suppose, at once but in the course of the next few years – the way the world thinks about economic problems.”

WAS HE RIGHT ABOUT ITS INFLUENCE?

"The book formed the basis for Keynesian economics, which has been a hugely influential economic model in the UK since the Great Depression, and, thanks to Keynesian advocate Gordon Brown, played a key role following the 2008 crash. Brown’s famous quote “no more boom and bust” was a direct reference to The General Theory’s central thesis.

WELL, THAT DID NOT WORK OUT!

"Keynes 1936 opus posits that during recessions economic output is strongly influenced by total spending in the economy in the short term and advocates state intervention to moderate “boom and bust” cycles. It challenged neoclassical economics by relating employment not to the price of labour but to the spending of money, which creates demand.

BUT WHAT CREATES DEMAND?

"Commenting on the book, John Kay, visiting professor of economics at the London School of Economics, said: “The analysis of the book was the dominant influence on macroeconomic policies in the 30 years that followed the second world war, and we still debate, and employ, Keynesian policies today.”

About Me

“The Middle East has often been represented as an area in the world where one cannot speak about classes and where class analysis is least relevant…A survey of leading historical studies of the Middle East reveals a surprising reliance upon the class approach. Such prominent Orientalists and Islamic historians as Hamilton A.R. Gibb, W. Montgomery Watt, Bernard Lewis, Gustav E. von Grunbaum, S.D. Goitein, Roger Le Tourneau, Reuben Levy, and Jacques Berque have sporadically analysed the Middle East in terms of class. Yet, none of these scholars have endeavored (1) to examine systematically the meaning and relevance of this concept within the Islamic setting; and (2) to define rigorously and reshape the concept according to the area under consideration and the problems at issue.”(James A. Bill)